land, stephanie

"'Class' paints an intimate and heartbreaking portrait of motherhood as it converges and often conflicts with personal desire and professional ambition. Who has the right to create art? Who has the right to go to college? And what kind of work is valued in our culture? In clear, candid, and moving prose, 'Class' grapples with these questions, offering a[n] indictment of America's educational system and a . . . testimony of a mother's triumph against all odds"--Provided by publisher.

The author shares moments from her life as she found herself unexpectedly pregnant and struggling to make ends meet while still holding onto her hopes of attaining a college degree and becoming a writer. Sharing insight into life below the poverty line through her own struggles as a low-income single mother, the author offers an eye-opening glimpse into the meager hope offered to those who must rely on government assistance to survive even as they work themselves to a state of exhaustion with little respect, inadequate compensation, and only their hope and determination to keep them putting one foot in front of the other.